PICS Study

How are young Canadians making decisions about the COVID-19 vaccine? What barriers do youth encounter in getting vaccinated against COVID-19?

Psychology researchers at the University of Victoria would like to learn about the key factors associated with youths’ COVID-19 vaccine confidence and uptake. We are asking persons aged 14-25 complete a ~20 -minute survey, which will collect information about demographic characteristics, as well as health, psychological, and cognitive factors, and COVID-19 vaccine attitudes, experiences, and uptake.

If you are between the ages of 14 and 25 and are currently living in Canada, then you may be eligible to participate. Participants can enter for the chance to win one of ten $50 gift cards. Please visit https://bit.ly/YVCStudy to complete the survey.
Principal Investigators: Dr. Megan Ames ([email protected]) and Dr. Theone Paterson ([email protected])
The UVic Research Ethics study number is H22-01747.

“What we are really trying to do is understand which groups are struggling the most and so that is one of the key takeaways from all of this work.... We are all in this together; we are all struggling... but there are some people who are struggling a lot worse. How can we identify those people? That is what our surveys, first of all are trying to do,” says Dr. Hasina Samji, co-lead of the Personal Impacts of COVID-19 Survey (PICS).

The pandemic is really stressing youth out, studies show Sobering stats and ways forward.

“Do we know what we need to do to have positive mental health, the same way we know what to do to achieve good physical health? I think now, more than ever, we as a society need to have that conversation, and also to reach out and extend support to those who don’t have the resources to cope.” — PICS co-lead, Dr. Hasina Samji, an assistant professor at SFU and a senior scientist with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

COVID-19: Two-thirds of B.C. youth struggling with mental health during the pandemic, new research shows B.C. Children's Hospital research says two-thirds of youth report mood swings, anxiety or suicidal thoughts, up from one-third before COVID.

"We have 3 main goals. The first is to follow people over time, [. . .] to see what those long term implications might be. Secondly, [. . .] we're particularly interested in the voices of vulnerable communities and people who might not have already had the opportunity to share their experiences. And third, most importantly, what we're looking for is the resources that have been most helpful for people over time, and what needs people have [. . .] so we can amplify those resources, or at least inform people, in the future."

Health Matters: The ripple effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on families | Watch News Videos Online Watch Health Matters: The ripple effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on families Video Online, on GlobalNews.ca

“We hope we can make a difference to improve people’s mental well-being now and in the future,” Dr. Hasina Samji says. “There is widespread recognition that we need to measure mental well-being at the population level and in groups that may be disproportionately affected by the pandemic."

Online survey of COVID-19 mental health seeks participants A new online survey by researchers at BC Children’s Hospital, the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Simon Fraser University (SFU) aims to better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the mental health of children, youth, adults and parents.